Dragon Ball Z is back again in its most physical iteration in Dragon Ball Z for Kinect from Namco Bandai. It was a blast punching and kicking through the most memorable moments of Goku‘s adventures, but could the legendary Super Saiyan beat his most legendary opponent yet: the Kinect detection sensor?

Everything you remember from the anime is back and fighting evil aliens and robots is as much of a workout as you’d expect it to be. Thankfully, the filler is cut down so you fight the most memorable battles. This particular retread of Akira Toriyama’s work is strictly DBZ, so no furry heroes or strange dragons to speak of. Besides the story mode there’s also a score attack, but that’s about it gameplay-wise. Something of note is there is a 20 minute DBZ special on-disc called Episode of Bardock. This will be the first time this episode has been released in the U.S and Europe. Fans of the series will also notice that not all the voice actors could be rounded up for this one, though the important characters are all intact.

Kinect games are known for their flawed controls, so it seemed best to give the topic its own section. The controls are decent for a Kinect game, but it was still frustrating having many of my moves go unnoticed. The fights in Dragon Ball Z for Kinect are fast and fluid so it was a shame to see it hampered by the device rather than the game. Throwing out a Kamehameha is terribly satisfying, as well as popping Frieza a new jawline. The same can’t be said for the QR code reader, which felt like a shameless pandering rather than extra content.

I enjoyed Dragon Ball Z for Kinect far more than I should have, and I have the sore muscles to prove it.   Dragon Ball Z for Kinect will allow you to to relieve the battles of the anime or simply offer you the nerdiest work-out possible.  I couldn’t recommend this game more and you’ll see the fun from my gameplay videos –  just be sure not to punch anything on your way to a higher power-level!

Related Videos:

DBZ Goku Vs Frieza Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pf_d0DDYcw

DBZ Nappa Fight Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Bmf__51mY

DBZ Ape Vegeta Fight Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yNsbLXzKTs

DBZ Official Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSWUesJRYBg